No Fish - Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast beaches

[simfish67]

Anyone had any success lately fishing from beaches either Gold or Sunshine Coast? The Goldie is suffering from the lack of deep water off the beach but sunshine Coast hasn't been producing fish for me either. I have noticed there isn't even a catch of dart about. I have been fishing what looks like good water but still not getting action. I have fished beaches for many years and never had any problems getting a feed until last few months.

[bondy99]

I've had SFA from the beaches also, trying to find a good gutter for tailor, for early dawn near the rocks and late evening through the night on the right tide and wind directions and moon cycle.

Bondy

[Slider]

No mate - nobody else is getting any fish off the beaches - other than a few small dart, the odd whiting, tarwhine or flathead. Hear it all the time and the last 6 months in particular. I have a theory on why the fish have gone but I'm sure everyone knows what that is.

[MudRiverDan]

Went down to Cabirita yesterday, didn't see any Tailor or get snapped off so I didn't bother throwing any slugs.

Got hit by a few choppers on pike chunks and got snapped by a decent fish of some sort (crap braid gave out).

Other than that the water was a bit shallow, there seemed to be a very small window of opportunity to get a line out.

Was a lovely day though, no wind and sunny.

It may have been a bit flat, bit too tame.

Went down to black rock and seen a bunch of beach fishos hammering the only gutter on the beach.

IMO for good fish you need big baits and be able to haul it right out down that way, that the only time I have done ok, other than that those beaches don't seem to have enough gutters.

Cheers

Dan

[simfish67]

Thanks Slider. I figure you're theory revolves around netting? I hate that this takes place but can't use this as an explanation for GC beaches. They don't net these beaches, do they? Since the big storms and erosion going back 18 months, the fishing has been quite poor. I think this might have more to do with it but am getting very frustrated with other areas on sunshine coast that normally produce and haven't suffered from erosion.

[bondy99]

I've seen mullet fisherman still beach seine the area on the Gold Coast around the sand pumping jetty late evening and at night, they did so last year, no reason why they wont be doing it this year.

MulletRiverDan,

Thanks for the update. I'm going down south probably Fingal and Evans Head and to try

Slider,

Thanks for that, sent you a pm.

Cheers, Bondy

[nigelr]

The local river confluences and adjacent beaches have been flogged here for the past month or so and the beach fishing is almost if not non-existant.
Water is good colour and good to excellent formations but sfa about.
I'm a believer Slider!
Must say I actually thought things might change for the better with regards to beach-haul activities in NSW but there has been more activity hereabouts than I have seen for probably a decade.
Sure, not the Goldy or Sunny, but same principle applies IMHO.

[Slider]

Cheers Nigel - there will be a lot more believers before long also. The results of research into commercially fished species dynamics, spawning, growth rates and fecundity are starting to appear and my hypothesis is looking mighty fine.
It has been established that fish alter migrations to avoid heavy fishing pressure which takes them away from their conventional food sources and evolutionary derived spawning locations with reduced egg production resulting and reduced larval health and increased larval mortality. It has also been established that overfished species have reduced growth rates, attain a smaller size-at-age which results in reduced fecundity and reduced larval health and increased larval mortality.
It has been established that tailor have altered their migration in recent years to further offshore and attain a smaller size-at-age. Therefore it distinctly possible that tailor are now less fecund, are suffering higher larval mortality and combined with the commercial and recreational take, water and habitat issues, are at extreme exposure to collapse. I would go as far as to say that the same thing is occurring in any number of species along the australian coastline.

I mention the recreational take as being a contributing factor and it has to be. But it is extremely unlikely that recreational fishing pressure is altering migrations and spawning location. This is strongly suggested by the fact that in locations where commercial nets have been banned, but recreational fishing allowed to continue, fish have returned to those locations.

There's a lot more to it and there are all sorts of variations depending on species, fishing pressure, growth rates of individual species, other predators involved other than nets and food availability. It's complex, but the above provides a bit of an idea of what has been established as fact.

What this also means is that it doesn't necessarily matter if a particular beach is not netted, if crucial spawning grounds are not being utilised by the species that would normally inhabit that beach and migrations are being altered by netting elsewhere, then their population levels in that location can and will fall irrespective.

[liltuffy]

Just when I'm getting excited about the upcoming season - reality bites

[simfish67]

Thanks Bondy99, Slider and Nigelr. I feel a lot clearer on reasoning but now a bit pissed off to think that this could be the major contributing factor in such a short period of time.

[chris69]

A mate was over at morton island this week for a few days and there was nothing there,a local told him that the flathead had just dissappered,they got 1 dart and 1 flathead between 4 guys i think and they did the east and westen side on the island and the cape, not a good sign allround.

[Captain_Zero]

I fished Sunshine Beach on Saturday morning for one keeper whiting of 25cm and a half a dozen or so small dart (none bigger than 25cm and most a lot smaller).

Cheers

Chris

[MudRiverDan]

Just goes to show how flacid and indifferent the DPI is to the real needs of the ecosystem.

Meanwhile fishos stand around on rock walls and beaches fishing in a desert of sand.

It's a joke.

Dan

[chris69]

And Nambucca heads has a water temp of 24degs and there getting spotty mackerel ?????? 2 wash outs in 2 years has not helped i think but you would have thought it would have made it better.

[bondy99]

In reality regardless of political persuasion it boils down to the mighty dollar and industry, its look after business and developer interests first and screw the recreational fisherman and the environment as the second..including mangroves...its ok to clear a mangrove to a make a car park or extend a runway but its all war on a person who wants to cut an old mangrove tree to make fire and keep warm.

What a society we live in.